Source of Mercy
by Desi The Moon Bear
Summary: The heart of the worlds are large, and are battered with darkness. With broken dreams, with dashed hopes. So much, that the snow turned black when it fell that winter...
1. Chapter 1

The capricious woman was staring down at me with intense, dark eyes. She had large dark horns perched upon her head, and her skin was an ominous green, just like the orb upon the scepter she wielded. Her robes were black, long, and elegant, with edgy ends. Her face was angled and strong, her brow prominent. It made her whole face stronger. I was in my sundress, the same dress I had been wearing for a few days. I smoothed some hair behind my ear, shivering. I was on a table, staring into the dark countenance of this woman. The figures around me were only daunting silhouettes, and they all exuded…darkness.

"Who is this girl, Maleficent?" The voice sounded regal, yet...dark. It was frightening.

"Yeah, what's her business in here?" Another voice. This one was indescribable.

"Shut up!" I jumped visibly, and scurried to the far side of the table, shivering. "This _girl _is more than she appears. Push her over here, Jafar."

I felt a pair of hands on my bottom, and the person in question, this Jafar, pushed me up ahead, bringing me closer to the green-skinned witch. I shivered, and tried to crawl back away, but was met with a cold, silver hook to my neck. I yelped, and stared downwards, my eyes brimming with tears. I felt them roll down my cut and scarred cheeks; what had happened?

The darkness had surrounded me. I had been practicing my fencing when the sun was blocked out by deep black clouds. It was peculiar, but I thought that it was just going to be another twister. I had headed for home, without a second thought. I had tied my rapier to my hip; felt it pummel my lower leg. Then, that was when I was instantly surrounded.

The dark splotches seemed to fall from the sky, like rain. They were small at first, but when they hit the ground, they instantly spread, and conjured creatures of unimaginable horror. They were larger than me, with glowing, hollow golden eyes. I took my rapier off of my waist, and sliced through one of them…then another, and another as they advanced upon me. I had been fighting for a valiant spell; I hadn't been stopping my attacks, and they hadn't stopped their advancement. When the hands of one wrapped around me, I had dropped my rapier. The other shadows converged upon me, and my rapier was snapped into pieces by the large feet of these creatures. Smaller shadows lifted out of the ground, jumping on top of me.

That was how I came to be here. I was afraid. My cuts and bruises were paining me. The salt from my tears made my mouth raw. My hair was in a messy knot, and blood had stained it. The witch regarded me with a sort of amused gaze. What was she smiling about? Her long, twisted lips curled up into that condescending smile.

"Just look, all of you." The witch tapped my chest, and I gasped outwards. I looked downward, and saw a hole in my chest. It was showing my heart, and I felt…violated. "Look at her heart! It's almost completely black."

"Hey, y'right! She's cry'n like a baby; she can't be what we're look'n for!"

"Oh, Oggie. Now you know why you aren't the thinker here. See; in her heart, there, that sliver. There!"

I looked down at my own heart, and saw that it was dark. It was dark, and there was only a glimpse of silver there, cutting in a diagonal line across my heart. I was surprised to say; the rest of my "heart" was black. I reached out to touch it, but the witch tapped my heart, making the hole close around it. She stood up, rubbing the green orb on her scepter. I sat upright, shaking in my skin. My blood had stopped flowing. I had stopped thinking. I was examining this woman – no – this creature with the wide eyes of a deer confronted with the barrels of a shotgun. Was this my end? Was the end near?

"As you know, girl, my name is Maleficent."

"I-I don't kn-know you." I yelped outwardly as she thrust her scepter at me, making me almost wet myself.

"You shall come to know me! Until we find a better use for you, you shall be doing tasks for us."

"Wh-what?" I stammered outwards. The witch swung her scepter in a wide arc, and this time…I did wet myself.

"Ah, Maleficent! You scared her too much; she soiled herself!" I didn't dare look back, but it seemed that Jafar had exclaimed angrily about my…outburst.

"Ahahaha, she peed on herself!" I felt tears pricking at the corners of my eyes as "Oggie" taunted me.

"Aaww, is the wittle baby scawred?" The voice that came next even sounded like it came from a monster.

"SILENCE!" I closed my eyes tightly, screaming outwards. I realized I was in a puddle of my own urine, but I didn't care. "Hook, Hades, go take her to get cleaned up. Oggie, make your burlap sack of a body useful and clean this table."

"Why do I gotta' clean this up?"

"Oggie…"

I was dragged out of the room before I could see the consequences of Oggie's insolence. I didn't look at the creatures that were dragging me; I was staring downward. My inner thighs were itching like crazy. What was _in _urine that made it do that, anyway? I rubbed my thighs together, and got tossed into a narrow rectangle of a room. A tall man with blue flames for hair spun a knob above me, and I was drenched with cold water all of a sudden. I screamed outwards, the only warm thing on me now my tears.

"Okay, all clean!"

The man with the hook dragged me out of the stream of water, and led me back to the room with the large table and chairs. I was placed back onto the table, and Maleficent was right there, glaring at me. I was about to pee again; I could feel it. The other creatures sat down, and then I was met only with the cold eyes of Maleficent. I trembled, my dark hair falling over my shoulders.

"Tell me your name." Maleficent commanded. I narrowed my eyes, but felt in the depths of my heart that I had to reply.

"My name is…Sal."

Yes, the depths of my cold, black, heart.

With only a silver of light left.


	2. Chapter 2

_Your first task is to locate the whereabouts of a boy named Richard Thadius Omar. He should be at Disney Castle, taking his rest. If not, report back immediately._

I was engulfed by darkness. It was racing, but I did not know where. My armor was lightweight, yet I was promised a good deal of protection from it. It was strange, to be completely surrounded by this darkness. It was strange having to admit that this same darkness was in my heart. It was ripping away at it, and soon that darkness would take over my whole completely. I looked upwards, and saw a slight ringlet of light above me. I coughed, and the ringlet became larger, and it showed a colorful courtyard, with sculptures made out of bright green foliage, and silver pathways that lead to archways and doors. It was all so gorgeous! My eyes were wide; I could barely believe what I was seeing.

I stayed quiet as my body was propelled towards the ringlet, at a speed that I did not think imaginable. As the ringlet became larger and larger to my eyes, I slowed down, almost immediately. I arose out of the dark circle slowly, with lines of violet waving around, like pronged tongues sniffing out a target to eat. I stepped away from the circle, and it stayed there, now completely stoic, and unmoving. I looked back towards it, and then turned away, feeling nothing at all about it. Was I already what they called…a Heartless?

_A pair of railroad tracks, on a chunk of white clay. I can hear the whistle, but I can't see where it's coming from._

What was that? I could see the mixed sky; the pink and violet hues with orange clouds and gray smoke. I could see the white chunks of clay, covered with railroad tracks. But what _was _it? I shook my head, and looked about the courtyard. Maleficent had told me that we only had "a short period of time" before "it" happened. Therefore, I had to be swift in finding Omar. I walked down the pathway towards an arc, and this arc lead to a staircase. I started to walk upwards, and was met with a large door. I unsheathed my lance, my instincts causing me to jump into a battler's mindset. I pushed open the door, and was met with a grand hall, stained golden by the sun. The carpet was a kind of mauve, leading to a room at the far end of the hall. I stared down the long expanse, and then continued forward.

I reached the far door, and I stared at the small conjoined circles on the wood. I placed my hand over it, and opened the door, peering inside cautiously. What I saw was shocking.

The room had papers scattered all over it. It wasn't neat as I thought it would be. Other servants in the castle must have been off doing other business, such as…eating breakfast. Or, perhaps they were in the throne room. I shrugged, not really knowing what was going on. I walked over to the desk in the middle of the room, and picked up a yellowed scrap of parchment paper.

_Dear Donald, _Who was what?

_Sorry to rush off without sayin' goodbye, but there's big trouble brewin'._

As a king, he didn't write very formally. I skimmed over the rest of the letter, and a line caught my eye.

_There's someone with a key…so go to Traverse Town and find Leon…_

I slammed the paper back onto the desk, and then started to approach the throne room. My mission was to look for Omar. Not to figure out what the "key" was. I shut the door, leaving the room exactly as I left it. Then I started down the hall, just to be confronted by two Heartless. They were small shadows, so I took out my lance, ready to engage them. They sunk into the ground, two-dimensional silhouettes leading me towards the throne room. I followed behind them, and then watched as they pushed open the door. I nodded, and stepped inside, ignoring the copious amount of Bolt Towers surrounding me. They were all spinning, for no reason. They would disappear soon.

"You! Who are you?"

I looked forward, and saw a young boy sitting on a large throne, his amber eyes appearing sinister. I approached him, putting my weapon away.

"I should be asking you that question. Are you the one they call Omar?"

"Oh, you know my name. How quaint. Yes, my name is Richard Thadius Omar. You must be Maleficent's new lackey, am I right?"

"I prefer prisoner of choice over lackey, but either definition will work at this moment." I stopped at the large chair, and stared up at the young boy. Couldn't have been but a year younger than me. "Maleficent sent me to…"

"Sent you to find me, and to bring me back to the council, right?"

"She just told me to find you."

"Well, here I am! I don't want to leave, so fuck off already." Omar stood up, and turned away from me, staring at the throne.

"Come with me, Omar."

The Bolt Towers turned towards me, almost like they had expected my outburst. Omar looked at me over his shoulder, and I noticed that something was in his hand. It was a scepter. I narrowed my eyes, only to see the Bolt Towers converging upon me.

"What is this?" I spat, drawing my weapon again. I held the bottom of my lance with my right hand, and the head was being gripped by my left. I had crouched down low, glaring at a Bolt Tower right in front of me.

"I don't think you're quite gutsy enough to be a servant to Maleficent! So, I'll be testing you!"

"Then call off the Heartless!"

"Sorry; they're not mine. _You _do something about them!"

I lunged at the nearest Bolt Tower, slicing its head with the blade of my lance. The head spun about in circles, and the Bolt Towers started to spread out. Some of them were charging thunder spells, and others were getting ready to use their heads as projectiles. I brought up my lance, and sliced through a head that had come to hit me on my left side. A thunderbolt had landed right beside me, and I had jumped away from it at the last second, being propelled right into a launched head of one of the farther Bolt Towers. I landed on my stomach, my lance falling from my palm. I coughed, and got back up, holding my weapon tightly.

"You're way too slow. Come on, attack!"

I lifted my lance once more, and charged at the nearest Bolt Tower, piercing through its head. It vanished, a pink heart floating up towards the air. I jumped around a few thunder spells, and was blown off of my feet by one that narrowly hit me. I flipped while I was in the air, and used the blade of my lance to pierce the ground. I slid downwards, and then drew my lance from the ground, facing the large creatures again. A few of the towers were gone; only three. There seemed to be a good dozen there before, but now I only have nine to take out.

"Wow, you're doing a good job! That armor Maleficent got you is very flexible."

"Shut up!"

I speared the head of another Bolt Tower, and then through another. Two hearts floated upwards, and I was suddenly hit with a flash attack, directly. I yelled outwards, and then slumped over, using my lance for support. My hair was sticking upwards slightly now, and I was twitching slightly from electrical currents ravaging my body. I patted my hair down, and then glared upwards, my joints still convulsing in spasms. Omar's eyes were grinning condescendingly at me, and his smirk made me feel incredibly insignificant. Like I wasn't strong enough.

"Stop smirking at me…" I snarled lowly. I picked up my lance, and then held it behind me, both hands at the bottom of it. "Stop it!"

I didn't know what happened afterward. All I knew was that I had a sudden, killing instinct awakened inside of me. I was swinging my lance furiously, and the Bolt Towers were falling to its blade. I calmed down, and the towers were gone. I was breathing heavily, and sweat was rolling down my brow. Omar was sauntering towards me, one leg going in front of the other. I looked to his scepter, and noticed that it was different from regular ruling scepters. It was curved inwards, and a shining, teardrop-shaped orb was on the end of the tip of the scepter. It was made of silver; I could see it gleam in the light of the Audience Chamber.

"That was pretty good." I stared at Omar, my chest heaving and my eyebrows drawn together. "Now, let's see if you believe in magic!"

Would this…ever end?


End file.
